Emma Frost: Queen of Diamonds
By Nate Yoshida

PART 6

Forty-eight hours have passed since the events at Frost International's private airstrip.

"Kristal Van Helden-Chase has gone missing, Miss Frost," the police interrogator stated flatly.

He was Detective Lieutenant Edwards, a clean-cut man in his late twenties with dark brown hair. He carried an aura of confidence that bordered on outright arrogance. He seemed like the kind of man who worked his way up through the ranks of the police force by manipulating its politics, and enjoyed every second of it.

We were in a cold, bland interrogation room with sickly beige walls. I sat on a cheap plastic chair, leaning back on it in a hopeless effort to attain a reasonable extent of comfort. I wore the same white coat I had donned at the airstrip, but it was accessorized with a cast around my left knee. Edwards stood in front of the entrance, next to a large one-way mirror which undoubtedly veiled an audience. I didn't care who it was listening to this conversation. In fact, I had every intention of mind-wiping them all when I saw fit to do so.

"We don't yet have the body," Edwards added, "but I know she was last seen with you two days ago. I know your type."

"Well that's very nice, darling," I responded calmly. "Will my type be able to go home soon? One of my students is in a serious condition, and--"

"Let's cut the crap," Edwards came closer and stood over me with his hands resting on the table. Apparently, he was trying to intimidate me but I didn't so much as budge an inch. "People like you make me sick to my stomach, Miss Frost. You take advantage of the weak. You use everyone around you like pawns for your own personal gain. You think you're above the law just because you're rich, powerful--"

"And happen to be an utterly radiant organic-diamond beauty," I muttered quietly.

"--and happen to be an utterly radiant organic-diamond beauty," he repeated my words involuntarily. He then lost the arrogant tone in his voice and paused for a brief moment in a state of confusion. "What was I talking about again?"

"You were telling me about how my wealth, power and beauty make you sick to your stomach, dear." I grinned. "You're getting really tired and you need to get to the bloody point."

"I'm getting really tired," he repeated, "I need to get to the bloody point." He awkwardly stood up straight, no longer able to assert himself in his poor attempts at intimidation. "We believe Kristal Van Helden-Chase has been murdered, and you are responsible for her death."

"Now why would I want to do that, officer Edwards?"

"That's Detective Lieutenant Edwards," he corrected me. "Perhaps Mrs. Chase threatened to reveal the legal history of one of your employees. Mister Ian Kendall, maybe?"

Every word out of the interrogator's mouth up to that point was as predictable as clockwork, especially the ones I put in his mouth, but his mention of Ian's name quickly caught my interest. Ian's history with Chase remained one of the few pieces of the puzzle that I hadn't solved in my mind yet. I decided to hold off on the mind-wipe, realizing that I might actually be able to extract some useful information from Edwards first. Of course, he thought he was the one prying information from me.

"What about Ian Kendall's legal history?" I asked with a curious expression.

"Don't play dumb with me, Miss Frost. It won't be that easy, so stop wasting my time. I--"

"You feel like telling me all about it right now," I interrupted.

"--I feel like telling you all about it right now," he repeated involuntarily and took a seat across from me.

"Was he really a speech writer for the White House?" I began my own interrogation.

"Yes, he was," Edwards affirmed. "He often wrote speeches for the late President of the United States. But before that, he lived in California for five years, where he tutored the children of Hollywood's rich and famous. His reputation gave him a client list that looked like an all-star film cast."

"How exactly did Kristal Van Helden-Chase fit into this picture, dear?"

"She was one of his clients. The Van Heldens weren't celebrities, not by the standards of Kendall's other clients, but they were wealthy and powerful. Not to mention Kristal's brother, Heinrich, already had connections with some of the highest ranking officials by then."

"And the legal problem?"

"Ian Kendall was accused of sexual assault by one of his students, but the case was dismissed before it went to trial. The problem was, Kendall was already black-listed by the Hollywood elite. Word got around fast, and they weren't about to hire a private tutor with that kind of allegation in his history. He soon disappeared and resurfaced a few years later in Washington, D.C. We believe he struck a deal of some sort with Heinrich to acquire his position as a speech writer--"

The door of the interrogation room swung open. Esme entered and interrupted my information exchange.

"Okay, that's enough," Esme stated as though she had authority over Edwards. "I'm taking Miss Frost back to the holding cells, you weak-minded fool."

Later in the afternoon, I sat on a worn-out bed with stained and torn sheets in a holding cell at the precinct. I pulled my coat closed in an attempt to keep warm under the poorly-heated conditions of the facility, but also subconsciously in an effort to stay clean in that filthy environment. I looked at the old stone walls and the rusted metal bars, it was one of the last places one would imagine me staying in voluntarily. But believe it or not, that's precisely what I did. I had ulterior motives for cooperating, and in my mind, it was worth putting up with it all for the time being.

Sitting in the cell next to mine was none other than Eddy Kazama, back from the battles at Area 51. One could argue that his black suit clashed with the environment even more than my wardrobe did. He stared peacefully at a small mound of dirt on the ground of his cell. To my surprise, the mound subtly began to vibrate for a moment and then began to form into the shape of a Japanese kanji character. I had no idea Eddy possessed any kind of telekinetic ability, but he seemed so calm and in control of it already, that it was nearly chilling for me to witness him using it.

When I first saw Eddy as a child, he was little more than a typical hyper and outgoing young boy. He had matured so much in the years since -- both in personality and in mental ability -- that I sometimes felt as though a whole period of his life just passed me by. In my mind, I was like a guide to my students, the one who leads them up the long stairway toward a potential for success. But I had to admit that Eddy managed to climb quite a few of those steps without my help.

On the other side of the bars was a whole other story. It was Esme, leaning against the wall below a security camera that recorded the sights and sounds of our cells. She watched us without speaking a word. Her cold, blank stare might've actually been frightening to some, but she was nothing to me by that point. She struck no fear in my heart, contrary to her wishes. Sure, only days ago, she and Quentin were responsible for pulling me down to my lowest emotional depths. But I had gotten over it. They were no different than any other mistake I ever made. They were just another bump in the road through life in an imperfect world.

"So was it worth it, Eddy darling?" I broke the silence as my voice echoed through the holding cells.

"Matilda Brant deserved to die for what she did at Flushing Bay," Eddy answered without hesitation. "These metal bars are nothing to me. I'm staying here right now of my own free will. I owe it to you, Miss Frost, you'll need my help."

"That's not what I'm talking about," I replied. "I'm talking about that angry little girl watching us right now." He paused for a moment and gave more thought to his next response.

"The night at Club Kazama with Esme was nothing," he stated firmly while he looked directly at Esme. She didn't so much as blink in response at first. He turned to face me and continued, "I admit it was a mistake. I know that now."

"Yeah, it was a mistake that you didn't do it much sooner, Eddy," Esme commented. "Admit it, you know now from first-hand experience that I'm the better one. Sophie always thought she was the leader of the sisters, but I'm always the one pulling the strings. Miss Frost knows that now too."

"That night in New York, when you interrupted me and left," Eddy responded, "I was trying to say that what Sophie and I had together, I could never have with you, Esme. You know, a part of me really thought Sophie was replaceable. There were literally four of you. But after that night, I realized how stupid I was to think that..."

"Ooh, gangster boy thinks he's all that now," Esme made a transparent effort to hide her insecurities. "A few weeks in Nevada and suddenly you think you're some kind of wise old man, is that it, Eddy?"

I leaned back against the stone wall, taking a more comfortable position on the bed. I still faced Esme, but I didn't look her in the eyes. Instead, I casually checked my nails for any damage from recent events, purposely conveying Esme's lack of importance in my view.

"You haven't come as far as you think you have, Esme darling," I said calmly. "You were the rebellious one when I took the five of you in. You always thought you pulled the strings, but deep down, you know Sophie was smarter than you. More ambitious than you."

"Shut up, Miss Frost!" Esme walked closer to my cell door and grabbed the bars. "I haven't only surpassed your little teacher's pet, I've surpassed you! You know that now! You crouched there on your balcony, crying your eyes out because me and Quentin made you see the pathetic reality of what you really are. A coward looking for an easy way out!"

"It's Quentin and I," I corrected her with a yawn. "And your little telepathic assault was nothing more than the psychic equivalent of an attack below the belt, Esme. It stung for a moment, but in the end, it amounted to nothing more than a cheap shot. It just exposes your lack of ability to strategize with a clear head. I'm not impressed."

"Hey! Wake up, Miss Frost!" Esme slammed her hand angrily against the rusted metal bars. "You're in there and I'm out here! Which one of us came out on top? Admit it, you can't stand the fact that we reduced you to a whining, pathetic old woman!"

"I'm not that old, dear," I replied without raising my voice, refusing to give her the pleasure of angering me, despite her best efforts. "And I'm warning you right now, you'll regret it if you gloat about this now. Believe me."

"You're warning me?" Esme continued to lose control over her emotions, itching to somehow recover her injured ego. "What do you think you can do to me from behind these bars? You think we don't know about the way you mind-wiped the police to get out of legal troubles in the past? Go ahead, erase the entire police department's minds right now. We'll just restore it within a minute. In fact, we may even make a few creative changes of our own when we do that, now that I think of it."

"I'm not going to erase their minds, Esme," I looked up at her, eye-to-eye. I shot her a confident grin, knowing it made her blood boil that I showed no fear even when the situation appeared to be in her favor. "If there's one thing I learned in my darkest days, it was the fact that no scheme could ever be perfect. No matter how well thought-out it may have seemed at the time, there will always be one little flaw that brings it crashing down like a house of cards. You'll learn that soon enough, darling."

"That's because the schemer was incompetent!" Esme responded hatefully. "We're smarter than you were, Miss Frost. We made you and Doctor McCoy believe all the other students were infected with A.P.T.S. We knew you'd take the bait. You're so predictable. You followed Mrs. Chase to the airstrip, and when she shot my poor little sister just like we told her to, you shot her in return, just like we knew you would. With murder on your record, your school's grand opening will be the biggest failure that never happened. While we played you, Doctor McCoy, Mrs. Chase, and those two investigators like puppets, we even made a little money on the side by supplying Van Helden with the chemicals he wanted for the thing in Nevada."

"Would you mind repeating that, dear? I didn't quite catch the last part. I'm a little confused."

"Going senile in your old age, Miss Frost? I said we supplied Heinrich Van Helden with A.P.T.S. to use as chemical weapons in Nevada! Did you think we would really waste our supply on the other students when we could make a few extra bucks out of this?"

"Thank you, Esme. That's all I needed." I glanced up at the security camera at the top corner of the wall behind Esme. With a subtle smile, I slowly sat back and turned my attention back to my nails. "Damn, I'll have to polish this one again. Don't you just hate when that happens?"

"What's wrong with you?" Esme became increasingly frustrated at her lack of ability to enjoy the sensation of outsmarting me. "Get up and face me, Miss Frost! I'm your greatest fear, your worst nightmare. I'm everything you've ever hated about yourself, embodied in a living, breathing, entity! I make you hate yourself to your core, burning down everything you ever believed in!"

"No, Esme," I said in a relaxed tone. "You're just another little bump in the road that I drove over. I've moved on to bigger things."

Detective Lucas Bishop and his partner, Tessa, arrived at the holding cells. Bishop locked restraints on Esme's wrists.

"By the authority of Ororo Munroe, we're placing you under arrest for conspiracy to supply chemical weapons, and attempted murder," Bishop informed the girl. "And don't bother trying to play with our minds, Esme. It won't work."

"See, Esme?" I calmly stood up from the bed and walked toward the cell door. "I warned you not to gloat, darling. But I knew you'd be too stubborn to listen." I reached through the bars and took hold of Esme's head, pulling her closer to me as I fed a vision into her mind. "Now I just have a small parting gift for you..."

Forty-eight hours ago, I stood in the storage area of the Frost International private airstrip, holding Kristal Van Helden-Chase's own pistol to her head at point-blank range.

"Wait, wait. Like I said, it wasn't personal, Miss Frost," Kristal pleaded. "Please..."

"And like I said, you will die just the same, dear."

I fired a bullet into Kristal's skull, killing the sister of one of the most powerful men in the nation.

At the moment, I felt absolutely no regret. I thought Kristal deserved to die for the cold-blooded murder of Sophie, the student who became the kind of altruistic thinker I could never be. I had the entire situation under control in my mind because I've done it before, and I knew I could do it again. Without a body, the police had little to go on. And even if some over-zealous detective pursued the case further, I would just resort to another mind-wipe. It was almost like reliving my days at the original Massachusetts Academy.

What I hadn't expected, however, was the sudden arrival of Eddy Kazama.

I loaded Kristal's body into a crate and wheeled it toward one of my company jets, when Eddy's plane landed on the runway. Eddy exited his flight, wearing a black suit and carrying a sheathed traditional Japanese sword. He was accompanied by a group of his personal bodyguards.

"We can help with that, Miss Frost," Eddy offered. He noticed my complete physical exhaustion, not to mention the fact that I was limping due to my knee injury. "Where are you taking it?"

"I just need to get rid of it, Eddy," I told him.

"My people can take care of it for you," he nodded and didn't ask for further explanation.

While Eddy and his friends did their part, I collapsed on the concrete floor of the runway and fell fast asleep. The telepathic rummage of the previous night was an admittedly tiring experience, if nothing else.

I woke to find myself lying in bed at the emergency room on the subbasement level of the New Massachusetts Academy. When, I opened my eyes, I saw Henry standing over me with a gentle smile on his face.

"Emma," Henry greeted me, "you're awake."

"Henry?" I responded in a state of confusion. "Where's Eddy?"

"Upstairs, arguing with Tessa over Matilda Brant," he answered. "They've been yelling at each other since he came back this morning. I was surprised you stayed asleep, but I decided to let them work it out with each other so I just brought you down here and fixed up your knee."

"Oh, thank you, Henry," I looked at the cast on my knee and sat up to take in my surroundings. "I hardly remember the last time I came down to this place."

"I hardly remember the last time you were injured seriously enough to see it, Emma," he patted me gently on the back. "Bishop and I found the students at the Snow Valley school. It turned out they weren't infected but they were collared and unfed. We found them tired and hungry, with no ability to communicate telepathically. Then Lucas got a call from Tessa saying she followed you to the airstrip. At the time, she still thought you were trying to get away on one of your flights. After Lucas and I brought the students back to the Academy, I drove myself to the airstrip as fast as I could to try to straighten out this mess."

"Is that Sophie?" I asked, pointing to a girl on a bed in the far corner. She was wrapped in bandages.

"Yeah. By the time I arrived, Tessa came out of the storage area holding Matilda Brant prisoner. I saw Sophie lying outside behind the hangar and quickly checked her pulse. I got Tessa to kick-start her."

"So she survived?" I asked.

"The bullet missed her heart and lungs, but she was bleeding to death. The kick-start didn't seem to make any difference either. Not at the moment anyway. So I just sealed the wound and we brought her back to recover. A few hours later, Eddy came into the school, carrying you in his arms. He saw Tessa questioning Matilda Brant and the argument ensued..."

"I shot Kristal in the head, without an ounce of regret," I stated factually. "It's been years since the last time I killed anyone in cold blood. But when the moment came, I had no doubts at all in my mind. People really don't change, do they?"

"You thought she killed your student, Emma," Henry responded in an effort to justify my actions. "Anyone would've done what you did. Besides, maybe she's better off dead."

"Be careful, Henry. You're beginning to sound like me."

"I'm just adjusting to my environment," Henry grinned. "It's an animal instinct."

"Esme and Quentin wanted me to kill her. They led us to believe they infected the other students with A.P.T.S., but their real plan was to destroy my career. I also think they were the ones supplying the chemical to Van Helden's regime. I know how to handle those children now."

"I hope you're not planning on confronting them," Henry replied with a tone of concern. "Remember what they did to you last time?"

"Esme and Quentin already did their worst, Henry," I reassured him. "Remember when I said Esme had become everything I regretted about my past self? Well I know how she thinks because I've been there. Now I'll turn her scheme on its head and bury her with it."

When Henry and I returned to the lobby of the school's main building, we saw Eddy standing over the body of Matilda Brant. Matilda was impaled on a Japanese sword marked with the Kanji characters for the name of Kazama Shoichi, Eddy's father's name as it was traditionally written. Tessa stood quietly, as did the crowd of students who had gathered around.

Before I could react, Esme and Quentin led a group of local police officers through the front entrance of the building. A large female officer took hold of Eddy and shoved him up against the wall.

"Eddy Kazama," the woman addressed him as she locked hand cuffs on his wrists, "I'm placing you under arrest for crimes against the United States federal government. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you--"

"Pardon me, dear," I interrupted as I approached through the crowd of students. "Eddy just returned from Nevada, where he fought on the side of the federal government."

"That's the former federal government you're speaking of, ma'am," the woman responded to me. "The Van Helden regime is the current governing body of the nation. We're not politicians, just a police force. We serve the laws of the ruling party. It's not our place to judge the regime."

A clean-cut man in his late twenties grabbed hold of my right arm.

"Detective Lieutenant Edwards at your service, Miss Frost," he introduced himself with a tone of arrogance. "You're wanted for questioning. Just come quietly and I'll try to make it easier for you."

"Excuse me," Tessa spoke up with an authoritative tone. "My partner and I are conducting an investigation on the chemical weapons crisis in Nevada. You're interfering with our investigation."

"On what authority?" Edwards questioned.

"On the authority of Ororo Munroe's organization," Bishop answered.

"We don't recognize Ms. Munroe's faction as a proper law enforcement agency," Edwards responded. "But if you and your partner wish to tag along as passive observers, you're welcome to do so. As long as you don't directly conflict with our interests, you're fine by us."

"It's very simple," I whispered to Esme within an inch from her face. "No human officers with a memory. No body. No crime. You, on the other hand, are about to be taken into custody by two mutant investigators who can't be mind-wiped by an amateur like you. Just remember, you were nothing but a bump in the road to me, dear." I released my grip on Esme's head and let Bishop and Tessa take her away.

"You're forgetting a big piece of the puzzle, Miss Frost," Quentin Quire's voice echoed through the holding cells as he stepped into the scene. Bishop and Tessa collapsed to their knees, holding their heads in pain. Esme backed up against the wall, still locked in the restraints Bishop had placed on her. "Your arrogance never ceases to amaze me. I'm an Omega level telepath. In another life, that might not mean much to anyone. But under your tutelage, I am now one of the most powerful beings the world has ever seen. You were so pre-occupied with the five girls you took under your wing that you never even guessed it was me who pulled the strings behind it all. Esme was my accomplice, not the other way around."

With my hands holding onto the bars of my cell door, I quickly took diamond form. I didn't respond. In a way, I knew he was right. I never really thought of him as the brains behind the pair. Despite his genetic potential, his personality always led me to believe Esme had been taking advantage of him.

With a grin of confidence, he pulled the security camera's electrical cable off of the wall and held it in his left hand. Its open end protruded from his fist like the head of a venomous snake.

Bishop and Tessa abruptly stood up and walked toward me with their eyes eerily vacant. Tessa opened the cell door and violently pushed me up against the bars. Bishop removed the restraints from Esme's wrists and locked them onto me, chaining me up against the open cell door.

"I paid attention in Doctor McCoy's science classes too," Quentin said to me as he approached with the electrical cable. "See, diamond is a form of pure carbon with very unique properties, Miss Frost. It happens to be one of the world's best conductors. Now let's see if its organic form works the same way. All in the interest of science, of course." He grinned and placed the open end of the electrical cable against my diamond body.

The electricity pulsated through my heart like the impact of a sledge hammer and interrupted its natural rhythm. My teeth clenched involuntarily and my entire body tightened up as it went into a muscular spasm. I saw my entire being flash before my eyes while my vision began to black out.

Quentin pulled the cable away and looked at my face for a moment. My eye lids became slightly relaxed and I felt the sensation of a moment when tears would be running down my face. But there were no tears. My tear ducts were completely dried out from the electrocution.

Bishop and Tessa watched with blank, expressionless faces, with their minds remaining under Quentin's control. Esme, however, smiled at me with a deep satisfaction. She had already seen me suffer emotionally, now she witnessed me in physical pain.

"I never planned on hurting something so beautiful," Quentin lifted my face by the chin with his right hand's thumb and index finger. "We had it all planned out. Your career would be ruined. We would be relaxing on a beach somewhere, rich and satisfied. But no one really needed to die... No one remotely important, anyway."

"Quentin!" Eddy yelled to my tormentor. He stood defiantly in his cell, with the look of a person who was ready to confront his enemy in combat. "Step away from Miss Frost if you want to live."

"Aww, how sweet," Esme remarked. "Sit back down and be a good boy, Eddy. You might've noticed that you're in no position to bargain with us right now."

Quentin grinned and slowly brought the open end of the wire toward my diamond body again. I prepared myself for the pain, hoping I could begin to tune it out so some extent. But before the end of the wire made contact, it suddenly bent backwards and attached itself to Quentin's neck. It sent electricity through his body and ejected him into the air, until his back slammed against the stone wall behind him with the impact of a cannonball.

I turned to see Eddy standing with his eyes focused on the end of the wire that had just jumped at Quentin's neck. Those metal bars were truly nothing to him, there was no denying his statement by then. He telekinetically held the end of the wire within an inch of Esme's face.

"Bishop! Tessa! Do something now!" Esme commanded the two mutant investigators, but they were beginning to return to their senses. I returned to skin form and telepathically blocked Esme's voice from them.

"How did this happen?" Lucas questioned as he unlocked me and placed the restraints back onto Esme's wrists.

"Just a day in a life among telepaths, dear," I answered Bishop.

"What's wrong with you two?! I meant do something to help me! Now!" Esme yelled at Bishop and Tessa.

"They can't hear you, Esme," I said calmly. "Stop yelling, you'll lose your voice."

"What do you mean they can't hear me?!" Esme became increasingly frustrated. "Bishop! Tessa! Lock Miss Frost back in the cell!"

"It's not that difficult to understand, poor girl," I patted Esme on the head. "See, Quentin is an Omega level telepath and you're not. He can control Bishop and Tessa easily, but you can't, certainly not by yourself at least. But besides all that, I just made you a mute to them, so don't bother trying to talk to them now. They really can't hear you, little girl."

In the evening, I sat next to Sophie's bed in the emergency room. She laid unconscious, but she looked serenely pure and peaceful in my eyes. I held her hand and reflected on all of the events leading up to that moment. Esme ultimately gave me an opportunity to confront my inner demons, but Sophie reminded me of a long lost innocence I once knew. Even if only for a brief moment, I actually considered that the little girl who attended the Snow Valley School -- the one who studied under Ian Kendall so many years ago -- might still exist somewhere deep within me.

"Miss Frost?" John Doe stepped nervously into the room, effectively pulling me out of my reflective mental state.

"Yes, John. What is it, dear?" I responded in a softer tone than he was accustomed to.

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. But there's a man from New York requesting a video conference with you over an encrypted connection."

"Who is he?"

"He didn't identify himself to me, but he said you would know him," John shrugged. "He mentioned something about a joint business venture..."

End of Part 6